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Buddhist meditation retreat: Being & Belonging - 4 nights at The Barn
Meditation, community & connection to the land
Summary
Duration: 4 nights - run regularly
For those with any meditation experience - or none
Single occupancy
Silence nightly until morning & on 1 whole day
Max. Spaces: 11
Overview
This meditation and mindfulness retreat is a 4-night stay in The Barn retreat centre in beautiful South Devon, offering a chance to develop or deepen your practice in a beautiful, peaceful and communal setting.
Where do we feel a sense of belonging and how can we cultivate a greater sense of belonging and connection to ourselves, each other and to nature?
In this retreat we will spend time together as a community through meditation, group sharing and exploring Buddhist teachings. Supporting a spirit of connection and cooperation, we will bring mindfulness to simple community tasks, including nurturing The Barn and getting our hands in the soil in our tranquil and secluded gardens.
The retreat is imbued with a sense of friendliness, compassion and care, where we can learn from the collective wisdom of the community. Through being together in a nurturing and friendly space, we can develop a strong sense of belonging, both to the human world and to the Earth itself.
View a 6-night version of this retreat here
This retreat is for you if:
- You need rest, replenishment, renewal and inspiration
- You are new to mindfulness and meditation or you want to re-start a lapsed mindfulness practice
- You'd benefit from reflection and connecting to nature and your creativity, far away from the busy-ness of your day-to-day life and work
- Are aged 18 and above
What you'll experience on this retreat:
- be living in community with like-minded people, sharing experiences and tasks, including cooking and eating together and helping in our gardens
- experience guided meditations and periods of silence and quiet contemplation
- have a single-occupancy room and your own space in which to rejuvenate, with free time to deeply rest and reconnect with yourself
- have access to 24-hour hot teas, coffee & infusions in the kitchen
- be able to explore the beautiful Sharpham Estate, set within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty close to nature, amid breath-taking scenery on the banks of the River Dart
What you'll need to know:
If you decide to stay with us, we’ll send you a list of what you need to bring for this retreat in your Welcome Letter that we send out after you've booked.
You can also find out more about staying with us on our Frequently Asked Questions page, including
- accessibility information
- why we encourage you to come on your own and not with partners or friends
- what the difference is between our retreats
Schedule
The weekly schedule provides opportunities for both individual reflection and group meditation.
If you're coming to stay with us on retreat, it is important to make a commitment to arrive in time for the first group meeting and to attend all the days.
This ensures you experience the retreat programme from start to finish and helps your group of participants to gel.
It is important that you are willing to participate in working on the land as part of your mindfulness practice (we can easily find suitable tasks for people with health difficulties) and that you can commit to all the scheduled activities during the week. This includes three 40 minute formal meditation periods each day.
Silence
All our retreats include periods of silence as a way of deepening into mindful awareness.
If you are new to spending time in silence in the company of other people, it can feel awkward to begin with. But we encourage you to explore the silent periods with a spirit of openness and curiosity - people usually find it to be a positive experience.
Note that we hold silence overnight from 8.40pm to 9.15am in the morning.
ARRIVAL DAY:
| Afternoon |
|---|
| 2.00pm to 4.00pm – Your arrival |
| 5.00pm – Welcome Meeting |
| 6.30pm – Light evening meal. Then settling in |
| 8.00pm – Meditation, followed by silence until 9.15am the next day |
SAMPLE SCHEDULE:
| Mornings | Afternoons |
|---|---|
| 6.20am – Wake up | 12.20pm – Guided or silent meditation |
| 6.45am – Movement & meditation | 1.00pm – Lunch |
| 7.30am – Household tasks | 2.00pm – Personal time |
| 8.00am – Breakfast | 5.00pm – Teaching (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) |
| 9.15am – Silence ends, morning meeting & check-in (except Wednesday) | 6.30pm – Light supper |
| 10.30am – Mindful gardening | 8.00pm – Guided or silent meditation followed by silence until 9.15am the following day |
FINAL DAY:
As above until 8.00am. Silence ends at breakfast. Then it's time to clear your room and depart between 9.00am and 10.00am.
The Barn Retreat Centre at Sharpham
Our popular meditation retreat venue in the Buddhist tradition is where up to 11 people join together living in community for weekly retreats, including a variety of themed retreats - scroll on to see them all.
You'll be staying within a friendly atmosphere of fellowship, sitting together in daily meditations and mindfully tending our organic vegetable gardens.
You'll have your own single room, you'll get to eat produce from what's grown on the land here and you'll also get time to explore the wonder of the beautiful and contemplation-inspiring Sharpham Estate.
Second time there and it continues to deliver! The coordinators are brilliant at creating a sense of community and peace. The setting is incredibly beautiful and allows for an deep immersion with natureGet Directions View Venue
By Car
By Train
By Taxi
On foot or cycle from Totnes
By CoachLeaders
Barn Coordinators
Read more +
Costs
Rooms & rates
All rooms are comfortable single occupancy, with a shared bathroom.
They are allocated randomly, unless you have a medical need - please let us know on your booking form.
Click here for more information on our types of bedrooms and facilities
Meals, bedding, and towels are included.
Select from the following rates:
| Subsidised rate | Standard rate | Supporter rate | |||
| A heavily subsidised rate for those on low incomes who would otherwise be unable to attend. This is made possible by the generosity of others who are able to pay the higher Supporter Rate, helping us keep retreats open and accessible to everyone |
The Standard Rate for those not on a low income, covers the costs of your retreat and contributes a small amount to the upkeep of The Barn. Your payment helps maintain the retreat spaces, keep rooms and communal areas in good order, and ensures the experience is welcoming and enjoyable for all who visit. |
For those able to pay a little more, you'll make a wider, lasting impact, helping to preserve the estate and its wildlife, sustain the charitable work of the Trust and ensure future participants can benefit from the peace and renewal we offer. By choosing this rate, you’re helping The Trust to thrive - now and in the years to come. |
|||
| £345 | £395 | £450 |
Dana
Dana is the Pali word for generosity or donation. The volunteer coordinators are receiving only a small payment for expenses whilst living at The Barn and are generously giving their energy and understanding to us all. Your donation, if you are able, is welcome.
Bursary places for those on low incomes
We are committed to making Sharpham Trust retreats accessible to everyone, no matter their income, and we have a variety of bursary schemes.
See our Bursary Places page here to explore ways in which you can come on a heavily-discounted retreat.
Bursary Fund donations
If you’d like to support even more people beyond your own retreat, you can donate to our Bursary Fund. Every gift helps make retreats accessible to those who might otherwise miss out.
If you’d like to help another person go on retreat with us through our bursary scheme, you can give online quickly and easily by clicking here
Terms & Conditions
See our booking and cancellations policy here
Available dates
At the heart of the Sharpham Trust ethos is our desire to build a more mindful, compassionate and environmentally sustainable world.
We connect people with nature and foster mindfulness and well-being through our programme of retreats, mindfulness courses, outdoor learning and the arts.
© 2026 Sharpham Trust | The Sharpham Trust Sharpham House, Ashprington, Totnes, Devon, UK TQ9 7UTUseful Links
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